Run Away Spies
by LH0001
Summary: What if Cammie had run away with Zach when he had asked her to? This story is set after the fourth book in the series. Instead of Cammie leaving on her own to take down the Circle, she takes Zach with her. Will they succeed in their mission or was her decision the wrong one? Plenty of action, love, hate and a plot with many twists.
1. Chapter 1- The Plan

"Run away with me." Zach's breath was heavy and warm against my face. I didn't hear the words, I only knew that the kiss was real-the kiss was safe. "Gallagher girl," he said , pulling back, holding my face in both of his hands, "we can go. We can run. We can get off the grid and stay off the grid until it's safe. For everyone." His eyes were inches from mine as he whispered, "We can keep each other safe."

I knew that Zach was right. I was dangerous to be around. The Circle of Cavan would not stop until they got me and the information that was hidden somewhere inside my head. I looked into Zach's gorgeous green eyes. Those eyes could destroy the wall that I put up to shield my emotions from the outside world. Those eyes tore that wall down, brick by brick until he could see the real me, my real thoughts and feelings. As a spy we were trained to never show weakness but with Zach, I could be both a spy and a normal girl. It's one of the many reasons why I love him.

"Zach, I want to leave with you. I know it's the right decision but what about my Mom? What about Bex, Macey and Liz?" I asked. They would never let us leave without them.

"We can't tell them. It would have to be just you and me Cam. We wouldn't be protecting them if we brought them with us." He wrapped his arms around me and I placed my head on his chest, soaking up his warmth. The beat of his heart was steady and consistent. It shouldn't be beating. Neither should mine. We had cheated death. We should have died in the Catacombs but we didn't. Eventually death would catch up to us and if we didn't leave then the lives of my friends would also be cut short which I would not let happen. I had come to a decision.

"Okay," I whispered, my voice barely audible.

"You'll come with me?" Zach asked, his words filled with hope.

"Yes," I replied, "But we're going to have to leave a letter explaining everything. I can't leave them in the dark about this. It wouldn't be fair to them and they'd come looking for us, which would defeat the whole purpose of going." I lifted my head so I could see his face and his reaction. He kissed my forehead and I felt his smile against my skin, sending shivers done my spine.

"We'll have to leave tonight, we can't risk waiting any longer. We need to run." Zach said.

All year I had been hearing that word. _Run. Run. Run._ I was going to listen and follow my orders and I was going to do it with the boy I loved.

Zach and I walked back to my room in silence. When we reached the door, he kissed me lightly on my lips, gently squeezed my hand and walked back down the corridor. We had made our plans and it would not be easy to execute them. I would have to lie to not only some of the best spies that I knew but also to my three best friends who knew me better than anyone. I took a deep breath to calm my nerves and turned the cold handle. The door swung on silent hinges and I padded along the thick carpets back to my bed without making a single sound. I didn't need to be as quiet as I was, I knew the girls were awake by their shallow breathing and the lack of any Baxter or Sutton snores.

"Where have you been Cam?" Bex questioned exactly one minute after I had lay down. Sighing I sat up and answered, keeping my story as close to the truth as I could.

"I went for a walk and bumped into Zach." Great, no lies yet.

"And what happened?" Macey asked with her perfectly plucked eyebrow raised and her arms crossed over her chest. She would always want the details, Macey McHenry was never satisfied with the bare minimum. Queue the lying.

"We spoke. A lot. He explained to me why he hadn't told me about his mother being the devil and about that night and what had happened. We spoke about where things were going between us and there might have been a few exchanges of kisses." Huh, actually not any lies there either. I was quite proud of myself.

"So, where are things going between you?" Liz inquired wide eyed.

"Well, we both feel the same way towards each other. We do want to make it work, I mean we've been through so much and there's that connection between us that I never had with Josh. I love him and I won't let his mother come between us." With each sentence I said my voice became quieter. I had just admitted to the girls that I loved Zach. I hadn't even told him that yet. Oopsie daisy as Liz would say. All eyes were wide and all jaws were on the floor all thanks to my stupidity and honesty.

"You LOVE him?!" Bex practically screamed. "Have you told him yet?"

I cringed and said through gritted teeth, "That...wasn't meant to come out. I don't even know whether I do or not. It's just been a hard couple of weeks in case you hadn't already noticed, so my feeling are all confused. And no I have not said anything to him so would you all do me a favour and keep your mouths shut.", "Please?" I added as an afterthought.

"Of course we will, what do you take us for Cam? My name is not Tina, but you have to tell him sooner or later. I'm sure he feels the same way." Macey said and gave me a smirk, "But just remember, you can't be the first one to say it, so hang on there and don't let it slip like just now before he admits it first, okay?" She stood up, gave me a wink and headed to the bathroom to start her morning routine.

"This is huge Cammie! I always knew you and Zach were the perfect couple!" Liz babbled on. Oh well, at least they'd give me some alone time with Zach today, even if the reason they thought it was for was far from the truth. I still had to figure out how I was going to pack my stuff without them noticing. It was going to be a long day and one that I would not enjoy. A lump formed in my throat and I had to fight back the tears whilst keeping a smile on my face. I loved these girls and I hated lying to them, I hated that I would have to leave them. Life was so unfair. These were my sisters and I was going to walk away from them. Even though I was doing it for their safety, I knew they wouldn't see it like that. They would see it as betrayal. If by some miracle the Circle didn't kill me I knew I'd suffer the wrath of Bex and die by her hands instead. I pushed the thoughts to the back of my head and focused on the task of getting ready.

Forty three minutes later we were walking the corridors and heading for breakfast. It was time to put my formulated plan into action. "Oh shoot, I forgot to put on some lip gloss!" I exclaimed, "Macey could I borrow your one, pretty please?" I batted my eyes and stuck out my bottom lip.

"Of course you can Cam, it's in the room, do you want me to come with?"

"No no, I'll go and catch you up in a bit. Could you save me a slice of toast and croissant before they all disappear please? I won't be long but I know what you lot are like." I said with a smile.

"Yeah, sure but seriously don't take ages, I know you want to look good for Zach but he's seen you after P&E so it doesn't really matter."

I rolled my eyes at Bex's joke and ran back towards the room. I had about ten minutes to complete my mission before they started to get suspicious. I grabbed my black duffel bag and started to throw in some clothes, shoes, money, fake IDs and girly bits. I hid the bag under my bed, applied some of Macey's ridiculously expensive (and only legal in Europe) lip plumping lip gloss which made my lips tingle and flew down to the hall in record time with 36 seconds to spare. I sat opposite Zach, gave him a small smile and tuck into my breakfast, after all I had to keep my energy if I was going to survive this day.


	2. Chapter 2- Goodbye

Chapter 2

I had six hours left with my friends. Six hours until one o clock came and Zach and I were leaving. The chances of me seeing them again were near impossible (I couldn't exactly ask Liz for the correct percentage for obvious reasons). I looked around the room, Macey was busy painting her nails, Little Liz was memorising a textbook called _Advanced Organic Chemistry and You_ and Bex, my crazy best friend was doing an impressive amount of sit ups on the floor. I decided that now would be the best time to write the letter that I would be leaving behind for them and my Mom.

 **Bex, Liz, Macey, Mom and Joe,**

 **I'm sorry that I didn't tell you that I was leaving in person, but I know that you would never have let us go. Please don't come looking for us, it'll only put you all at risk and that's the reason why Zach and I are leaving, to protect you from them. We're the only ones that the Circle will think twice about killing. I've already put all of your lives in danger too many times for me to count and I'm so sorry that I've been the cause of all of this. We're going and we won't be coming back for a while, well until we've managed to bring the Circle down. Please don't be angry or upset, I want you all to move in with your lives and not worry about us. I can't tell you where we're going as it'll be safer this way for us and for you, but trust me when I say we'll be fine.**

 **Macey, thank you for being there for me so many times and for teaching me so many things about life. Remember that you are a Gallagher Girl by right and no one can take that away from you, you were born to be a spy.**

 **Liz, I know you'll go on to do even more great things and you'll change the world in so many ways. You're so beautiful and talented and I'm so thankful for the years that we've had together.**

 **Bex, my beautiful British Bombshell. I know that you'll kick James Bond's ass and that you'll make the greatest spy that there has ever been. You've gotten me through so much and I don't know what I'm going to do without you.**

 **Mr Solomon, thank you for everything that you've done for me. The things that you've given up to protect me are debts that I could never repay. Zach and I will be absolutely fine because you are the best teacher that we could have ever had.**

 **Mom, I love you so much. Please don't be angry and please don't be upset. You'll see me again. I've got to finish what Dad started but I promise to come home to you. Thank you for always putting my needs ahead of yours. You're the best Mom in the world and I'm so lucky to have you.**

 **I love you all so much and I'm going to miss you all like crazy, but we'll see each other again. It's not the end of us, we'll be back. Remember don't come looking for us, enjoy your lives and move on. Until we meet again, all our love,**

 **Cammie and Zach.**

I folded the letter, put it in an envelope and stuck it under my pillow. I only hope that they'll forgive me for what we're going to do.

"Cammie are you okay?" Liz asked me quietly, her face was a picture of concern. I put on a smile and replied.

"Of course I am Lizzie, with three best friends like you how could I not be." Keep it together Cameron Morgan, you must not cry. You CANNOT cry!

"Since when did you become so soft, huh?" Bex flopped on my bed and nudged me with her elbow. It hurt like hell, she didn't know her own strength that girl but I didn't complain. I'd treasure the bruise as a reminder that she'd cope without me, she was strong and could fend for herself. I laughed and hugged her.

"I guess I'm just having a moment so don't spoil it Rebecca Baxter."

"If you call me Rebecca again, I will spoil your good mood by giving you a few new bruises." She said as she pushed me off her, but I didn't take her threat to heart, she was laughing so I was still on her good side...for now.

"Hey, why don't we go sneak through the vents and grab some goodies from the pantry and then come back here and have a girly pampering night?" I suggested, "We haven't done that in ages and my toes could really do with a new colour." Plus, it'll be the last time in a long time that we can do this together.

"Sounds great to me, I could do with a little choc chip ice-cream after that COW test today" Macey said.

"Let's do it! I'll stay here with Macey and sort out the pampering essentials while you and Bex go and retrieve the goodies. Do you accept your mission?" Liz said with a surprisingly deep voice for someone of her size. Bex looked at me and grinned and said, "Bring it on! Tonight is going to be bloody brilliant!"

 _-Time lapse-_

12:50pm. Time to go. I was meeting Zack by Gilly's sword in ten minutes. I'd had such a good night with the girls. So many laughs and memories were brought up and made. I was seriously going to miss them so much. I collected my bag from under the bed, pulled the letter out from underneath the pillow and placed it on top. I took my pyjamas off and folded them and left them on a pile at the end of the bed (I had dressed in the clothes that I would wear to leave and put my pyjamas on top of them, which wasn't the best of ideas but it was all I could think of). I looked around the room for one last time and sent a silent goodbye to each of my friends and left with tears stinging my eyes. It's a good thing that I've memorised the Gallagher Academy so well that I could walk it blind folded (a test was conducted in the eighth grade which proved this) because I couldn't turn on any lights in case I woke somebody up. The darkness was thick and every step I took felt as though my feet were made out of lead. This might be the last time that I'll walk these corridors. The place that I've called home for the past four years.

I arrived at the case which contained Gilly's sword and Zach welcomed me with a hug. No words were spoken, we both knew what we had to do. It was time to leave. We walked towards the secret passageway that we would be taking to leave. The one behind the Gallagher Family Tree Tapestry. I pulled the tapestry aside and turned around to take one last look at the place that I loved.

"Are you ready Gallagher Girl?" Zach whispered into my ear, his breath warm against my cold as ice skin. I took his hand in mine and we walked into the dark, spider filled tunnel and let the tapestry fall behind us.


	3. Chapter 3- Gone

The midnight air was cold as we stepped out of the tunnel and landed on the damp grass. Luckily it was a clear night so the moonlight showed us our path. The hairs of my arms stood on their ends, which had nothing to do with the cool temperature but more to do with the shadows of the night. I had never noticed how eerie the academy was at night before. I guess I felt more like a criminal that didn't belong here in the first place rather than a student that had been living here for five years. I sighed and let go of Zach's hand. Now was not the time for cold feet, it was time to roll. Literally.

"I'll see you at the finish line Gallagher girl," Zach said with a wink. Hmm even in the moonlight his eyes are like glowing emeralds, it's so not fair that he has prettier eyes than me. "Ready...set...GO!" and he was off, rolling down the hill like a silent sausage. I shook my head, clutched my bag to my chest and followed suit. Even though it was completely ridiculous, it was a much safer option than running down the steep gradient. You never know what rocks are just waiting to trip you up and send you flying down. I rolled over bumps and lumps in the ground, gaining speed, I would have more bruises to add to the nice one that Bex had given me earlier but oh well, it was fun. I reached the bottom just a few seconds before Zach.

"Loser" I whispered and stuck out my tongue. Even though I was acting childishly it took my mind off the seriousness of our situation and anyway, you always have to cease every opportunity to gloat when it comes to Zachary Goode since he's usually the one who does the gloating. He smirked and stuck out his tongue, mimicking my actions and tone as he said,

"I let you win, duuh"

I stifled a laugh and we crept silently towards the ten foot wall that surrounded the grounds. About 50 metres from where we were standing Bubblegum guard (I should really learn his name) was talking to another man. Zach and I threw our bags over and started scaling the brick wall at a rapid pace. It wasn't difficult, after all I had done this numerous times (129 if we're being precise) when I was sneaking out for various reasons, like to see Josh. I landed with a barely audible thud on the other side of the wall in a crouching position. As I stood up Zach landed half a metre to my right. I turned and faced him and said whilst imitating his smirk, "I bet you let me win that race too".

"I never actually said that that was a race Gallagher girl, so you didn't win anything," he stated, returning the smirk, "Sorry to disappoint." I gave him a rather hard punch on his shoulder and started running towards the town of Roseville.

"Catch me if you can, maybe you'll be third time lucky!" I called over my shoulder.

It took us 12 minutes to reach the town and when we reached it I felt a strong arm wrap around my waist pulling my body to his hard, chiselled one. His warm, soft lips met mine for only an instant before he pulled away. It was a quick and sweet gesture which brought one of those stupid grins to my face. "I guess third time wasn't a charm baby" I teased.

"I guess not," he replied, laughter colouring his voice. So far everything had gone according to plan and I had forgotten about what we were going to have to do. We weren't just sneaking off to Roseville, we were going to disappear. The heavy sinking feeling returned to my stomach, turning my happy grin into a frown. "Are you okay Cammie?" Zach asked me. Even he had realised that this was no longer a laughing matter. We were out in the open. We were exposed. Wrapping my arms around my body I replied in a soft tone, trying to keep my voice from cracking.

"Yeah, I'll just feel better when we're travelling at a faster pace and heading as far away from here as possible."

"Well, I think I can help with that." He walked up to a black fiat 500, picked the lock and disabled the alarm before it could go off. I was impressed. "Are you coming, or are you planning on walking across the country?" Zach asked sarcastically. I opened the passenger door, chucked my bag on the back seat and hopped in. He hotwired the car and it came to life under his hands.

"So...where are we going?" It suddenly hit me that we were under prepared, under stocked on equipment and most importantly we had no idea where we were heading. Great pair of spies we were. So much for always having a well thought out plan in our pockets.

"Um, I was thinking maybe we should head over to Joe's safe house. We can spend a couple of days there, gather some stuff and come up with some sort of idea on where we're going to start our search." Zach suggested. It was as good a plan as any.

"What are you waiting for? Christmas is coming." I said, hoping to bring back some of the light-heartedness from earlier.

"As you wish your highness, don't get your knickers in a twist." He answered with a smirk.

We drove for a few hours, doing all of the things we had been taught to do such as taking wrong turns, back-tracking and other techniques in order to try and lose any tails, even though the roads were almost completely empty. Oh well, better to be safe than sorry. I heard Joe Solomon's voice in my head saying, "A good spy will never become complacent when it comes to their safety ladies." I smiled to myself, if only I could have heard his voice one last time before leaving. I hope he would wake up soon, he'd help Mom realise how Zach and I would be okay and he would look after her too. I sent a silent prayer up to God, asking him to bring Joe out of his slumber so he could be Prince Charming and save my mother from losing herself and her happiness. I was disturbed from my thoughts by Zach asking, "What are you thinking about? You've been quiet for most of the journey which isn't like you." I knew he was joking but I wasn't in the mood to laugh.

"I was just thinking about my Mom and Joe."

Zach sighed and placed his hand on my thigh. "They'll be fine Cam, we can't worry about them anymore. We've left which means they'll be safe. We can't lose focus otherwise we'll only put ourselves in danger."

"I know, but I can't help it. What if we're doing more harm than good? You know what they're like, they won't not look for us Zach, they're stubborn and they never do what they're told."

He laughed, which was so not appropriate considering the seriousness of the conversation, "I'm guessing that's where you picked up those traits then." He winked at me.

"Keep your eyes on the road Goode, I don't fancy dying yet." I smiled. He always managed to bring me out of the dark places that my mind wondered to. I placed a quick chaste kiss on his smooth cheek, thanking him without words for everything he was doing for me. His lips tipped up into a genuine smile and I saw a hint of a dimple. He was so breathtakingly beautiful.

"Maybe you should keep your eyes off of me" He suggested

"But I'm not driving," I stuck my bottom lip out and gave him my big Bambi eyes, playing along with the flirting game.

"But you're distracting so if you want to live to see another day I'd suggest you do as I say"

"Fine." I pretended to pout and turned so I was facing forward with my arms crossed over my chest. He laughed at my poor acting. There was a barely visible lane on the left and Zach drove up it. My heart started to beat faster as we continued to drive, coming closer and closer to the little homely cabin. We reached the cabin and Zach parked the car so it wasn't visible from the lane. "You have reached your destination." I said, imitating the voice of a SAT NAV.

"We have indeed, come on, you must be tired." He grabbed both of our bags off the back seat and went to unlock the door of the cabin. Now that he had mentioned it, I was tired. I stifled a yawn and climbed out of the car in a non ladylike manner. I walked through the front door, taking in the familiar surroundings. Zach was in the bedroom, putting the bags on the bed. Hmm the only bed. I pushed the thought out of my mind. Now was not the time to be over thinking the small details, what's wrong with me?! "Come outside with me." He slipped his hand into mine and linked our fingers together as he led me back out through the door we had come in. He turned my so that my back was to the front of his body, his arms wrapped tightly round my waist and his head was resting on my shoulder. There was a beautiful sunrise on the horizon, bleaching the sky with soft oranges, pinks and lilacs.

"It's so beautiful." I whispered.

"You are, yes" He kissed my cheek. I tilted my head so he could kiss my lips. The moment was one of the most sweetest and romantic that I had ever had. Even in the mess that was my life, Zach made it seem perfect. We had each other and we would sort this out together.


	4. Chapter 4- At the Cabin

**AN: Thank you for all of the reviews, please keep giving me feedback so I can make the story as best as possible!**

 **Discalimer: I don't own Gallagher Girls**

Chapter 4

I opened my eyes and found myself lying on the soft couch in the living room. The sun was at a high angle in the sky indicating that it was midday. I had slept for six hours but tiredness still clung to my body like a disease. I yawned and stretched my limbs feeling my muscles pull and relax. Where was Zach? I look around the room and found no trace of him. Maybe he was outside? I walked out of the cabin and looked around. He wasn't by the lake and he wasn't out in the open space. I saw a flash of colour in the woods. My spy instincts took over as I ran stealthily towards the person, avoiding twigs that would snap and alert them that I was there. I pounced and realised two seconds too late that it was Zach. I knocked him off his feet and we went tumbling to the floor, limbs tangled and leaves decorating our hair.

"What the hell, Cammie?!" He shouted.

"I didn't realise it was you with that hood covering your head," I retorted.

"You're lucky that neither one of us landed on this!" He replied whilst holding up a very sharp axe in his right hand. Wwps.

"I didn't see it, I thought you were a Circle of Cavan member so I just panicked, I'm sorry!" I told him.

"Well it looks like I was wrong, it's not the Circle I have to watch out for, it's my girlfriend that wants to kill me." Zach said with a smirk that I wanted to slap off his face.

I was not in the mood to listen to his snarky comments so I stormed off back towards the cabin. How was he so calm about this whole situation? He should have told me where he was going, what did he expect me to think when I couldn't find him?! The anger literally rolled off me like tsunami waves. You would have thought that he would have known not to come sneaking up behind me when I was like this but Zachary Goode was not as smart as he thought he was. I spun around and sent a vicious kick towards his side which hit it's intended target perfectly. I smiled smugly at his pained face.

"See, I said you were the one who wanted to kill me and I was right as per usual." He said cockily.

"Maybe if you weren't such a dick then I wouldn't want to kill you." I answered.

"Oh, is that what you think of me? After everything we've been through as well. Well Cameron Morgan you really have wounded me." He said sarcastically, placing a hand over his heart. I swung my fist at his face but he managed to block it. "If that's how you want to play Gallagher Girl, bring it." So I did.

Kick after kick was given and fist after fist was thrown. We blocked each other's attacks with perfectly executed defence moves that would have made our P&E teachers incredibly proud. Sweat beaded on my brow from the heat of the sun and the sheer effort that I was putting into the fight. All of my pent up anger at the world was thrown at Zach. I caught his arm as he attempted to hit me in the chest and used his momentum against him. He flew over my shoulder and landed on his back on the ground with a loud thud and groan. I sat on top of him and put my knees on his thighs and held his arms above his head. I grinned down at him but my victory was short lived. He rolled over so that I was the one pinned down.

"Can I get off you or do you still need a few minutes to cool off?" He asked.

"I'm fine. Get off me, you weigh a ton!" I huffed.

He laughed but released his grip on me and kissed my forehead. "Need a hand up?" Zach offered his hand and I took it. He pulled me to my feet and we walked back to the cabin. I felt much better after releasing some of the tension that I was keeping inside. I just felt bad that it was Zach that was on the receiving end of it all.

"I'm going to go have a shower," I told him. I needed to wash away all the emotions I'd been feeling recently. I turned the shower on and turned the heat up so it scolded my skin and I sat on the floor under the steady stream of water and brought my knees to my chest, wrapping my arms around them. Steam rose around me and fogged up the glass. I sat there for what seemed like forever until a soft knock came from the door.

"Cammie, are you okay, you've been in there a while?" Zach asked. I sighed and stood up, turned the shower off and wrapped a thick towel around my body. I opened the door to a Zach who looked extremely worried. "We need to come up with a plan Cammie, we can't stay here for much longer."

"I know, I just needed to have a bit of time to myself. You know, gather my thoughts and just stop and breathe for a minute." I said. It was about time that I stopped sulking and started doing something useful so I did what I had been taught to do. I stopped being a teenage girl and became the true me, the spy me. "Give me two minutes to get dressed and we'll sort this out, okay?" And I closed the door and got ready. I brushed my wet hair and put it into a French plait, I pulled on a pair of skin tight running three quarters, a white t-shirt and put some trainers on my feet. It was time for action.

Zach was sitting at the dining table waiting for me. I sat down opposite him and gave him a smile. "Where do we begin?" I asked him.

"Well firstly, we need to figure out where we're going and we need to find Solomon's equipment so we can take it with us." He answered. I thought for a minute and I remembered that I had brought my cove ops report from when I had been sneaking out to see Josh. It was after that report that the Circle of Cavan had started coming for me but why? I had also brought my dad's coded diary with me. There were clues in each of these things that would help us, I knew it but I had to find them within the text first. I went into my bag and pulled out the two items and placed them on the table. "Gallagher Girl what are these?"

"They are going to help us put the pieces of this messed up jigsaw together." I stated. I explained the rest of my ideas on how everything was linked and Zach agreed that it was the best plan.

"So, let's start reading them then," I suggested, throwing him one of the reports.

"I'm not reading about you and Jimmy, no way, give me your dad's diary." Zach spat.

"Seriously? Your going to be childish at a time like this?" That boy was so confident in himself yet he was still jealous, but I have to admit, it was pretty cute.

"I'm not being childish, I just don't care about little Jimmy and how you tried to have a stupid and wreck less relationship with him." Zach replied coolly.

I didn't bother correcting his mistake of calling Josh, Jimmy, I just smiled to myself and swapped books with him.

Two hours later and I had still not figured out what it was in the report that had made the Circle come after me. I got up and threw it to the floor in frustration. "This is useless, I can't find it and my head hurts from all of this thinking!" I exclaimed. "Have you found any useful information?" I questioned.

"It says here that Joe was having nightmares about-" I covered Zach's mouth before he could say the last word. I noticed there was a small camera in the corner of the room, just below the ceiling. I pointed towards the camera and placed my finger to my lips, telling him to be quiet. I grabbed a chair to stand on and I disconnected the camera. I turned back to Zach and said, "Well our time here has significantly shortened. What were you going to say?" Zach said some rather disturbing words in Farsi but carried on reiterating the information he had learned.

"Joe was having nightmares about the time he was in Rome. Maybe there are headquarters of the Circle there. Your dad seemed to think it was a good idea to mention it so maybe they went there?" It was a good suggestion; to retrace my dad's footsteps, considering we only had a few hours until we had to leave again.

"Okay, we'll leave tonight at 9 o clock. Until then we pack and we find Mr Solomon's equipment. Maybe there's a hidden passageway to it." I said.

"Well if anyone can find it within seven hours, it's you Gallagher Girl." Zach smirked at me.

"You check outside and I'll check inside." And with that we started the search. I went to the little log fireplace, placing my hand all around the edge, looking for a sign of a button or some small clue to hint towards the lurking of a passageway but there was nothing there. Perhaps it would be behind the bookcase? I started taking out various books in different orders, hoping to guess the right combination. I noticed that there was something off about the back panel of the second shelf from the top. It was different to the others, almost as if it wasn't completely secured. I took all of the books off from that row and removed the piece of wood carefully in case it was a trap. The silence of the room was deafening, each second seemed to tick by at a snail's pace. It was dad's hiding place. Not Joe's. There was a picture of dad, mom and me at Christmas time on my grandparents' ranch. And there was an envelope. An envelope that said, 'For my girls'. My hands shook as I picked it up and placed it on the table. I stood there staring at it until Zach walked in with a handful of guns, ropes and various other pieces of gear. I can't say I took much notice since the most deadly thing at that time was the envelope on the table.

"Solomon didn't hide his gear very well, it was just in the shed with a coded lock on it. Not very high protection if you ask me." Zach stopped when he saw my white face and the stillness of my body. "Cammie, what did you find?" He approached me slowly as though he was scared I would run away if he made any sudden movements. I slid the envelope towards him and the paper burned my fingertips as they made contact with it.

"It's from my dad. I found it along with some pictures of us...us as a family just before he left." My voice cracked as I explained what had left me feeling so weak.

"Have you read it yet?" He asked softly, his voice sounding like silk.

I shook my head, too afraid to speak incase I shattered into a million pieces.

"Do you want me to read it to you?" Zach asked again. I thought about it for a minute and nodded my head ever so slightly. I heard the familiar tear of paper as he opened the envelope. My heart beat like a drum, gaining speed and getting louder with each passing second. Zach cleared his throat and read the letter out quietly. I felt like I was in a dream as he spoke the words my father had written to me so many years ago.

"Dear Rachel and Cammie: if you are reading this then I am probably gone. Well, that or Joe finally found the hole in his cabin wall where I've been stashing things for years. Or both. In all likelihood it's both. Please forgive me for not giving this to you myself, but as long as there's a chance that I can go on without putting anyone else in danger, I have to take it. I think that I have the key-quite literally- to bringing the Circle down. But a key does no good without a lock, and that's the next thing I have to find. I've stored the key in a bank box in Rome that only you and Cammie and I will be allowed to access. I shouldn't say anymore here, in case this note falls into the wrong hands, but once you have the key, you will understand. If I am right, then there is a way to bring the Circle to an end, a window that can lead to a happy ending. And I will find it. I promise you I will. I love you both. M.A.M. Matthew Andrew Morgan." He placed the paper back down on the table. I felt his strong, warm arms wrap around me, holding me so close that I thought he would never let me go. I felt so safe there, so protected, so I did what I swore I would never do again. I broke down.

Twenty two minutes had passed since I had broken down into tears. Zach had held me, rocked me and soothed me as I cried. We were now on the floor, me in his lap with his arms still wrapped possessively around my frame. In most likelihood my father was dead. But until I found him I would never know for sure. "Rome," I whispered, my voice barely audible.

"What?" Zach's breath tickled the back of my neck.

"He said there was a key in a bank box in Rome. You were right. That's where he went." I explained. "And that's where we are going to go."

"I'll pack the car with the gear and you get our bags. Everything will be okay Cam," he looked into my eyes and whispered, "I promise."


	5. Chapter 5- On the Road Again

Chapter 5

We drove in silence. Determination was set in my bones. Pieces of this messed up jigsaw were starting to come together and we were closer to finding out the truth about everything. Nothing would stop me from reaching Rome. Nothing. It was 45 miles to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. With all of the surveillance moves we were doing it would take us nearly two hours to get there instead of one. We had done 21 miles when I noticed a black Range Rover with black out windows following us very closely. "Zach, have you seen the car behind us?"

His eyes darted to the mirror and they became hard like steel.

"Something tells me that they aren't your average American family with two kids and a dog." He replied, putting his foot down on the accelerator. In response to our little washing machine of a car speeding up, the Range Rover caught up to us and bumped the back of our car, reminding us that if it was a race we wanted, they would win. Despite it being twenty to four on a Friday afternoon, there were no other cars on the road. Strange, but I let the thought slide when the Range Rover hit us again, harder this time which caused Zach to lose control of the car for a couple of seconds. I rummaged around through my backpack to look for the silver gun that Zach had taught me to use. The metal was cold against my hand. This was no longer a CoveOp with people that wouldn't hurt us, this was real life.

"Pull over." I demanded.

"What?!"

"We can't out run them, we can't outsmart them on this empty road, we have to out fight them. So pull over!" Zach did what I said and I pulled out a second gun from my bag. He took it from me and placed it in the waistband of his jeans. The Range Rover had pulled over too and there were strong, mean looking men coming out of it. Five of these men to be precise.

Zach turned his head so he was facing me and said quietly, "On the count of three we're going to open the doors and attack them" I nodded. I was ready. "One..." Three of the men walked towards us, the other two were stood further back. "Two..." They were about four metres away from the car. Two of the men came to my side of the car, I guess I was priority over Zach. "THREE!" On his command I flung the door open hitting the bald man that was coming for me. I jumped out and punched the other guy in the jaw. I fought him, completely forgetting about the man I'd hit with the door until I felt a hard leg connect with my ribs. I stumbled and the man I had been fighting with caught me and held me so my back was against his chest. Let me tell you, his aftershave was potent, he must have put on half a bottle of that cheap stuff because it was completely overpowering and made me want to gag. Baldie hit me in my stomach, winding me but I refused to give in. I jumped and used the man who was holding me as an anchor as I kicked Baldie in the chest with as much force as I could generate. He went flying to the ground and I bent over and flipped bad guy number 2 over my head so he landed on top of Baldie. I took the gun from my waistband and hit the butt of it against both of their heads, successfully knocking them out. Before I could do a little victory dance I heard Zach cry out. The two that had been standing by the Range Rover had joined the first guy who had gone to take Zach out and three against one was not odds in Zach's favour. They had circled him like vultures, each taking their turn to torment the prey. I ran up behind the tallest one which had blonde hair and a split lip and performed an excellently executed butterfly kick which took him by surprise. If Bex was here she would have wiped away a proud tear. I repeated my move with the butt of the gun and knocked him out cold. He would wake up several hours later with a nice bruise on his head to remind him that he'd had his arse handed to him by a girl. I turned back towards Zach where he was fighting off the two other men. His moves were clean and precise, making maximum damage with minimum effort. Then everything happened in slow motion. Zach knocked one of them down and continued to fight the other with his back turned. The man on the floor took out a gun and aimed. The world stopped and all I could hear was an ear-splitting scream. Did it come from me? Without me realising, the gun in my hand was pointed at the man on the floor and before I could think what I was doing, I fired. I shot a hole through his head. I had just killed a man. The other guy that Zach had been fighting, the alive one, took off towards the Range Rover and sped away from the scene. I looked at Zach and saw terror in his eyes when he whispered, "Gallagher girl."

"I.. I had to kill him, he was going to shoot you.." My voice shook and trailed off at the end, the wind carrying the rest of my sentence. It was the first kill I'd ever made and I didn't even remember thinking about shooting, yet the scariest thing of all was the voice inside my head that said I'd kill many more in the future.

Zach took my arm and led me back to the black Fiat saying, "Let's go. Now."

We stopped two miles away from where the fight had taken place. We were in a small town who's name I couldn't tell you, (I wasn't exactly concentrating on taking in signposts and my surroundings). We abandoned the car and walked to a small bus station which had some toilets and a small cafe next to it. From now on we were taking public services until we got to Rome.

"We'll buy bus tickets to the airport then we'll have a coffee while we're waiting." I nodded in response. "Come on Gallagher Girl, you saved my life. He was a bad man, you did the right thing, okay?"

"I know Zach, I know. Look go buy the tickets and I'll meet you in the cafe. I need to use the restroom." I walked off without waiting for an answer. I looked in the mirror and saw how pale I was. Great, no wonder Zach thought I was struggling with what had happened if I looked like this. I splashed some cold water on my face and washed my hands.

I met Zach in the cafe. He was sat in the far corner near the emergency exit. I sighed, we would never be safe and we would always need an exit strategy.

"Hi," I said.

"I got you a cappuccino. I know it's your favourite."

I looked at him, totally confused, "How did you know that's what I like, I've never told you and I've never had coffee with you before?"

He smirked and pointed to himself, "Spy". That was his answer for everything and it was getting more annoying each time I heard it. I rolled my eyes and sat down opposite him. I sipped at the hot drink, feeling it scorch my insides. "We have thirteen minutes until the bus is coming."

"How many stops are there between here and the airport?" I asked.

"Four. Which is four too many I know but it's the safest solution for now." How did he know what I was going to say before I said it? I wasn't going to ask him because I knew I'd get the same annoying response as last time.

"I don't think they care about the public, you saw what they did in Boston, it was all over the news and we can't have that now." I replied, trying to persuade him to change his mind.

"This is what we're doing or would you rather have another life or death fight on the side of the road so you can shoot another man down?" My eyes widened in response. A part of me wanted to pour my cappuccino over him and another part wanted to storm off and hijack some car leaving him behind. I decided to go for the latter option incase the first one brought too much unwanted attention. I picked up my backpack and left him at the table. I felt the early summer air hit my face and then my sense of freedom was ruined as Zach pulled at my bag. "And where do you think you're going?" He asked with a smirk.

I threw him my best sickly sweet smile as I said, "To pick up a nicer boyfriend."

He feigned being hurt and replied, "You know one day Gallagher Girl you really are going to hurt my feelings."

"I'll try harder to make that day today." I walked off towards the car park area when I heard Zach shouting, "Sweetie, we're catching the bus. I know your amnesia is bad but you have to try and remember not to walk away from me, okay?" What an arsehole! People all around had heard and we're looking at us with pitying eyes, one man even patted Zach on the back as if he were some kind of hero! Zach gave me a smirk as he took my hand, leading me back to the bus station. Luckily for him the bus arrived twelve seconds after us. Everyone made room for us to get on first. I rolled my eyes at Zach thanking them. As if I was some poor disabled girl needing to be reminded whether she was a girl or a boy every five minutes, I could remember the mobile number my Mom had for a week, eight years ago. I'd have to hit him for this when we were alone. I chose a window seat, five rows from the front of the bus. I was graced by Zach's presence a minute and five seconds later.

"How are you doing?" He asked me.

"Oh I'm feeling tired, all of this forgetting is taking away my energy. I might have a nap." I lowered my voice as I said, "So I don't have to talk to you."

"That's not very nice, maybe the first thing I should help you to remember is your manners." I scowled and looked out of the window, only to see his reflection smirking back at me. I had been with him for less than two days. Two days! How was I going to cope with him for the rest of summer?! I did nap, for a lovely thirty two minutes, until the jerking motion of the bus coming to a stop woke me up.

"We're here." Oh goody, now I have to face Mr Annoying again.

"No shit Sherlock, I thought those flying things in the air were pigs." Zach laughed at my response and pulled out a packet of M&M's.

"Here, eat some of these. I think you're sugar level is low and I don't want to deal with a cranky Gallagher Girl on a flight for several hours."

We got off the bus and collected our bags from the underneath storage. Out of the corner of my eye I saw the last person in the world that I wanted to see right now. Aunt Abby. Along with six other agents were standing in the hall of the airport and there were bound to be more crawling around the place. Great, just great.


End file.
